The field of the present invention is apparatus and methods for the mounting of sheet material.
Advertising and other information is often temporarily presented on large sheets which are placed on billboards, truck panels and the like. One form of such sheet material is tensioned vinyl sheet. Such sheet may be printed upon and surrounded by a more rigid plastic border which is RF welded to the sheet. The border typically includes a large bead, circular in cross section, which operates as a tenon in association with a C-shaped mortise associated with a mounting frame.
Mounting frames may take on a plurality of configurations. Of value is the ability to tension the sheet and to maintain it in a tensioned and wrinkle-free state. Mechanisms have been used which first lock the sheet in place and then apply tension through off-center bolts and the like.
A recent system includes a mounting for a sheet that has a bead about its periphery. The system includes frame members forming a rectangle with each frame member having mutually parallel multiple engagement surfaces defined on ribs. As one utility, the frame has been mounted on trucks for advertising. The system further includes elongate retainers having elongate flanges with interlocking surfaces that can selectively interlock with any one of the engagement surfaces on the frame members and retainer mortise elements to receive the tenon beads on the periphery of the sheet. The frame also has frame rails having rail surfaces that face away from corresponding retainer rail surfaces on the rails of the retainers. A tool including pinch rollers squeezes the corresponding rail surfaces toward one another to place the sheet material held by the retainer in tension while the interlocking surface is engaged with the appropriate engagement surface. This system is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,276,082, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. To insure that the retainers do not inadvertently separate from the frame during use, a bead of elastic material has been wedged behind the elongate flanges and against the next adjacent ribs.
The present invention is directed to an elongate retainer for mounting a sheet to an elongate frame member where the frame member includes an engagement surface and a frame rail surface with both of the surfaces facing away from the sheet. The retainer includes an interlocking surface positionable in interlocking engagement with the engagement surface and a retainer rail surface facing away from the frame rail surface, the rail surfaces being oriented such that they might be pinched toward one another for setting the retainer in engagement with the frame member.
In a first separate aspect of the present invention, the elongate retainer further includes a plate extending from the interlocking surface with a portion of the plate having a thin, flexible wall which is attachable to the sheet.
In a second separate aspect, the first separate aspect may further contemplate an elongate retainer formed by coextrusion of two materials with one forming at least a portion of the plate being more flexible than the other. The same portion may have a fusible surface for RF welding to the sheet.
In a third separate aspect of the present invention, a mounting including an elongate attachment, an elongate frame member parallel to and displaced from the elongate attachment and the elongate retainer are contemplated with the retainer having a fusible surface for attachment to the sheet. Again, the elongate retainer may additionally be formed by a coextrusion of two materials with the first demonstrating dimensional stability and the second being more flexible. The second is preferably associated with the portion having the fusible surface for attachment to the sheet. The engagement frame may also include mutually parallel multiple engagement surfaces to accommodate with variations in the mounted sheets. A tool may additionally be employed for the pinching of the rails toward one another to engage the retainer with the frame. This mounting may further be in combination with the sheet and with any panel such as the panel of a truck.
In a fourth separate aspect of the present invention, a mounting process retains one edge of two opposed edges of the sheet at an elongate attachment. The other opposed edge is welded to the elongate retainer. The elongate retainer and the frame rail are then manipulated by pinching the frame rail surface and the retainer rail surface to then move the interlocking surface laterally into engagement with an engagement surface.
In a fifth separate aspect of the present invention, the elongate frame member and the elongate retainer are further held together by a lock which includes a channel positionable over the retainer rail once the elongate retainer and the elongate frame member are interlocked. The channel has a first leg which interlocks with the retainer rail surface and a second leg which is compressed between the elongate flange which is in interlocking engagement with the engagement surface and the next adjacent elongate rib. This compressed second leg may be laterally compressible which may in turn be accomplished through flexible flanges extending laterally and being angled away from the end of that leg.
In a sixth separate aspect of the present invention, a mounting system is contemplated for a roll-up door which has elongate panels hinged together about axes which are parallel to the panels. The mounting includes a roller mount which is spring biased to extend beyond the upper end of the door, a roller rotatably mounted in the roller mount, an elongate attachment and an elongate frame member. The elongate retainer cooperates with the elongate frame member to retain one edge of the sheet. One of the elongate attachment and the elongate frame member is affixed at the inside surface of one of the panels of the roll-up door while the other is affixed at the outside surface of a lower panel. On the top panel, the attachment is outwardly of the roller. As a roll-up door is lifted, the outer vertical surface extends. The placement of the roller provides for an accommodation of that extension by retaining the path length of the sheet between the attachment and the frame member constant.
In a seventh separate aspect of the present invention, any of the foregoing aspects are contemplated to be employed in combination to additional advantage.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved mounting system for sheet material. Other and further objects and advantages will appear hereinafter.